Nearing a deal went to done deal in a hurry. Michael Crabtree returned to the team facility to sign a three-year deal worth up to $21 million with the Ravens, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

The Ravens confirmed the signing in a tweet.

Murray represents a lot of high-profile players, including Dellin Betances. Last spring, after the Yankees beat Murray and Betances in an arbitration case, Yankees president Randy Levine held a conference call, blasting Murray for trying to have the All-Star Betances paid like a closer instead of a setup man.

Quick hits: For the first time since 1982, the NCAA Selection will not be on CBS. TBS will broadcast the Selection Show, as well as the complete Final Four. The two entities will combine on the productions so Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery will have the call of the championship game. Yankees fans are ready for the season. On Friday, their exhibition day game on YES outrated regular-season night games from the Knicks, all three local NHL hockey teams and the NBA on ESPN.That viral video of the Ardsley High Schooler stealing and heaving a game-winner that has been viewed nearly 2 million times was shot by sports writer Kevin Devaney Jr. Devaney is a high school sports savant, who was let go by News 12 Varsity at the end of last year. Devaney was also on hand, as an analyst, for the last viral high school video, when New Rochelle hit what became known as The Shot five years ago to the day.

After two years under the franchise tag with combined earnings of nearly $44 million, Cousins will experience a rarity for upper-level quarterbacks: a true bidding war for his services. The Redskins have moved on to Alex Smith, whose acquisition will become official when the new league year begins March 14. Cousins could set a new bar for NFL contracts, perhaps in excess of $30 million annually.

Although he never matched his early-career production after the 2015 trade to the Seahawks — in part because of a serious patellar tendon injury that season — Graham remains a major weapon in the red zone. His 10 touchdown receptions (on only 95 targets) in 2017 were tied for second in the league. Someone will see major value there.

Suh can still be an elite-level interior player, even if he doesn’t produce eye-popping sack numbers. He keeps himself in excellent shape and, when invested, requires the attention of multiple blockers. Any honest appraisal of him must note his inconsistent effort level, but overall, he is one of the few potential difference-makers available on the market.

Those negotiations will be the first real sign of the Cousins effect and whether quarterbacks — if not players at other positions — will be able to sign fully guaranteed contracts. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Rodgers sign a fully guaranteed, three-year, $90 million deal that would top both of the numbers above and make him the first $30 million-per-year player in league history.

The running back market is unique in that so many of the largest contracts are in the past. Of the 20 largest three-year values for halfback deals since the current collective bargaining agreement was signed, 13 are no longer active contracts. Two are for draft picks, and when Saquon Barkley joins Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette in the league, he’ll make it a third. There are just five veterans on non-rookie contracts in the top 20: McCoy, Jerick McKinnon (a staggering $22.8 million), Devonta Freeman ($22.1 million), Lamar Miller ($19.8 million) and Giovani Bernard ($15.5 million).

Other players ran faster, but Vea’s time looks pretty good with the added context that he’s carrying 347 pounds on his frame while moving down the track. Vea tweaked his hamstring during that run and Kimberly Jones of NFL Media reports he won’t be taking part in any of the other drills in Indy as a result.

Vea’s Pro Day is next Saturday, so he’ll need a quick recovery to go through drills at that point.

One of the things I like most about draft season is asking prospects what types of weird questions they’ve fielded from teams during the process. Da’Shawn Hand, a promising defensive end from Alabama, had another doozy.

You prepare for a lot of the weird questions you may get, Hand told B/R. But there was one that got me. One team asked me, ‘Do you like llamas?’

I asked Hand three or four times to repeat what he said. Yup, he said llamas.

I told the team, ‘I’ve never been around a llama, so I don’t know, Hand explained, laughing as he told the story. I have no idea what that has to do with football.

Jackson told Josina Anderson of ESPN that he will represent himself, with his mother serving not as an agent but as a manager.

The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner explained that he doesn’t believe an agent is necessary, due to the current wage scale for rookie contracts. As noted when Mayfield was contemplating going without an agent, that’s indeed the best argument for the self-representation approach. However, as also noted when Mayfield was contemplating going without an agent, that approach is a potential mistake.

Fifth, a good agent will sell his client relentlessly, working scouts, coaches, owners, and media to make the players as desirable as possible. As part of this effort, a good agent will push back against harmful media narratives, like Bill Polian’s goofy notion that Jackson should play receiver.

Sixth, a good agent will try to thread the needle, getting the player in the best spot to thrive. As UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen put it, it’s better to go lower to a better team than higher to a bad one. More specifically, it’s better to go to the team that suits best overall short-term and long-term fit, regardless of draft position.

Having no agent continues to be better than having a bad agent. Every high-profile rookie, however, benefits from having a good agent, ultimately getting much more in return for the relatively small percentage that goes to the person who knows how to handle the various aspects of the player’s NFL experience that easily can become unwanted sources of stress, uncertainty, and frustration.

Goodell should. Even if Goodell can claim (perhaps with a straight face) that he holds no ill will toward Jones for what was, at its core, an effort to overthrow the Commissioner, the appearance of a conflict of interest compels Goodell to step aside.

Jones has strong arguments against the effort supposedly instigated not by Goodell but by other owners to make Jones pay for his disruptive behavior in 2017. The resolution that permits fee-shifting does not expressly apply to threats of litigation, which allows Jones and the Cowboys to claim that the team stopped short of triggering the obligation to compensate the NFL and its other member clubs for the letter-writing campaign that culminated in Jones not following through on a possible plan to sue.

Jones will have a harder time proving that, as to the Ezekiel Elliott suspension, the team did not provide substantial assistance to Elliott, given the submission of at least one sworn declaration by Cowboys general counsel Jason Cohen.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has a contract that pays an average of more than $20 million per year. However, as more and more quarterbacks receive lucrative contracts, Ryan’s average annual salary slides farther and farther down the list.

About those turnovers: Darnold had an issue there in 2017 — his 22 turnovers were tied for most in the FBS — but I actually think a lot of that was footwork. Several of his 13 interceptions were because of poor footwork, and some of his sacks were the result of his not properly setting his feet and climbing the pocket. Scouts will take a close look at Darnold’s footwork and mechanics on Wednesday to see if he’s moving in the right direction.

Deep outs to the opposite hash. Fades. Corners. Get under center. Show three-, five- and seven-step drops. (If it’s raining, even better). Scouts are watching every throw and the footwork that goes into those throws. In a perfect world, no balls would hit the ground against air. Now, Darnold can’t help his receivers dropping the ball, but ball placement matters. Is he giving his receivers a chance to make a play on every throw?

Is he gonna buy into it? I believe he will, said Rolle, who speaks regularly with Rodgers-Cromartie. DRC’s a team player, he’s been a team player for the last couple of years. In my honest opinion, he never should have been out of the starting lineup as a corner because he had one of his best years at corner, then all of a sudden he’s no longer the starter, I never understood that move.

He can be very valuable at safety. Given, he’s going to have to make the open field tackle and he has to understand it’s not about a solo tackle or a knockout hit, it’s about getting the guy down, at all costs. That’s the biggest thing a safety has to understand, you’re the last guy on the defense, if they get by you it’s seven points.

Pitaro, 48, has long been atop Disney chairman Bob Iger’s list as possible successor to John Skipper. In fact, according to sources, Skipper for years had held off Iger’s suggestion to have Pitaro serve as his right-hand man. It would have resulted in a clear succession plan.

The NFL draft is not for another 40 days, but the Jets have already made a big splash with a blockbuster St. Patrick’s Day trade.

Gang Green moved up three spots in the first round Saturday, acquiring the No. 3 pick from the Colts in return for the Jets’ first-round pick this year (No. 6 overall), two second-round picks this year (37th, 49th overall) and their 2019 second-round pick.

The Jets entered this offseason knowing they had to find a long-term quarterback. They tried to land top free agent Kirk Cousins, but were rebuffed. Once Cousins chose the Vikings, the Jets moved onto Plan B, signing veteran stop-gaps Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater and trying to move up in the draft. They had spoken to the Colts earlier this offseason about making the move, but talks heated up this week once they were out of the Cousins sweepstakes.

That led to the Jets shifting to their original plan of landing one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. They secured McCown, who had a strong season for them last year, and Bridgewater, who could be the starter this year if he has recovered from a devastating left knee injury, and now they made their move to get their quarterback in the draft.

The move came without the Jets having to surrender their 2019 first-round pick. Most teams in recent years have had to give up a future first-rounder when moving up to grab a quarterback. Still, the move came at a hefty price. Three second-round picks are nothing to sneeze at, especially for a rebuilding team like the Jets.

Worked for the NFL, right? a smiling Marchand said while standing next to Bettman, announcing the new agreement to 17 reporters from NHL.com and three interns from other outlets with waning interest.

Perpetual perpetrator Andrew Shaw went headhunting for Dallas defenseman Greg Pateryn, and Shaw ended up getting the worst of the collision, seemingly suffering a concussion. Pateryn was obviously upset with the hit, and didn’t help matters by punching a helpless Shaw while he writhed on the ground. But was Pateryn incorrect when he said: That speaks for itself, the way he plays. That’s why he has four or five concussions a year?

Ugly situation all around, and reinforces the fact that this piece from Real Sports should be mandatory viewing for all those involved in the NHL.

You probably saw, or at least heard about, TB12’s appearance on CBS Late Night with Stephen Colbert a couple of weeks ago? He chugged a beer, whipping Colbert in a contest just as he might have once done as a student at Michigan.

Nate Solder is the centerpiece of the comprehensive rebuilding process the Giants are undertaking along their offensive line. But he is not the only piece.

In New England, he was part of Bill Belichick’s carefully interlocked puzzle. With the Giants, Solder will be looked to as the leader of the offensive line and, in some ways, the savior of a unit that will have three and possibly four new starters in 2018.

Much of this will be new for Solder, who turns 30 April 12. The Giants, with a four-year, $62 million contract, made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL, and with those riches come responsibility.

It’s not going to be one player, so I don’t have the mentality that I’m going to come in and make this huge impact, change the culture and all this kind of stuff,he said. I’m just coming in to play football and be myself and do what I can.

Ebersol’s father, Dick Ebersol, was McMahon’s partner in the original XFL and is a longtime television executive.

To help him steer the league, Charlie Ebersol brought on former NFL general manager Bill Polian, currently an analyst for ESPN. The player side will be overseen by former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, and the team side will be guided by former USC standout and executive J.K. McKay.

Advisers to the league also will include former NFL players Hines Ward and Justin Tuck, as well as Dick Ebersol.

While McMahon’s league is backed by McMahon’s money, Charlie Ebersol’s league is backed by others, including former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and The Chernin Group, which, among other investments, owns a significant share of Barstool Sports.

I think where businesses like this fail is that they expect to have ludicrous and unrealistic ticket and media deal projections in Year 1, Ebersol said. Our investors here understand that it’s a seven- to 10-year plan.